DARDANELLE - The city council heard a presentation Monday night from the Dardanelle Hospital Board of Governors asking the council to purchase the Dardanelle Family Clinic at an appraised value of $494,000.

The process began last month at the council's March meeting when the board approached the city about making the deal where they hospital would repay the city whatever the monthly note was, therefore not being a burden to the city.

Since the first step of the process was getting the Yell County Quorum Court to approve the sale, the council said they wanted to see what the court did before they took any action. In a special called meeting last week, the court agreed to sale the building, clearing the way for the hospital to ask the city to buy the Dardanelle Family Clinic building only.

Speaking on behalf of the hospital board, Ron Taylor said the money would be used for repairs at the hospital such as fixing a leaking roof that, at the last estimate, would cost $40,000.

"Most of the repairs needed are for the hospital and not the clinic," Taylor said. "The clinic building is only a few years old where the hospital is 30 years old."

Most of the council members had met with the budget committee earlier in the afternoon and expressed concerns about the hospital operating in the red.

Ron Merritt, also on the hospital board, stated the losses had been cut substantially since Dr. Kelly Meyer had come on board at the hospital in November and had brought several of his patients with him.

Taylor also pointed out with the "any willing provider" law that is being appealed, that if the law is upheld, the hospital could take Blue Cross, Blue Shield, which insures 70 percent of Arkansans with insurance.

"Even if that does get overturned, the state legislature is coming up with something that is essentially the same thing, and they would pass it if the law is overturned," Taylor said.

Taylor was asked if he could guarantee the hospital could make the payments and the board member stated there are no guarantees, but with the way things are going, there is no reason why it shouldn't be able to.

The council did not make a motion one way or the other after some more discussion, but asked to meet with the hospital board and hospital administrator Sondra Wear to go over the financial reports.

In other business, Code Enforcement Officer Bill Smith gave an update on the results of the four test wells drilled last month in various locations of the city and reported the best one tested was one located at Veterans Memorial Park. Smith also said that the city has completed its part of laying the water lines to the incoming Wal-Mart Supercenter property, and now the rest is up to Wal-Mart to complete the work.

The council had a second reading of the proposed tree ordinance that the council passed by title only.

With several senior citizens in attendance at the meeting, city attorney Ken Helton read a grant proposal for the senior center for $250,000. Dardanelle Senior Center director Sherry Tidwell stated that only one other center, in Morrilton, was making a bid to get the grant money from this region. With Morrilton's center being only a couple years old, she felt confident that Dardanelle could get the grant, but they needed the council's approval in order to pursue the grant. The council voted unanimously to allow the center to pursue the grant.

Helton also read an ordinance condemning property at 601 S. Front St. in Dardanelle. Bill Smith presented a slide show to the council to show the dilapidated condition of the house and a shed. The property is owned by Bill and Connie Tillman.

Connie Tillman was present at the meeting, and said she and her husband were embarrassed about the property and had plans to clean it up and asked the council to allow them some time to make corrections.

Smith then recommended that the council give them 60 days to tear down the shed, which had major structural damage and six months to make outside repairs to the house. The council followed Smith's recommendation and voted accordingly.

A petition to close alleys in the Joseph Brearley Addition of the city was tabled. The meeting adjourned after fielding a couple of questions from a resident about alleys on her property.